We live in a very small apartment. There are a host of "issues" that I have with it, including the fact that we have no control over fixing anything that might break, the fire alarms can go off at any time, we are at the mercy of other people to mow our tiny lawn, and it can get very noisy. We often have trouble with people taking our parking spot, we've had to call the exterminator this summer to fix a bug problem, the walls are poured concrete so it's hard to hang anything, and we're directly above the boiler room which means it can get HOT in the winter. If you're someone who knows me in person, none of this is news, i've had all of these things on a constant list of complaints since we moved in three years ago. However, I realized today that while I view it as less than ideal, to Stephanie it is home and she loves it.
Right now her two-year molars are coming in, and she's been super cranky and not sleeping. On the way home this afternoon, she whined and fussed in the car, asking to go night-night, and just generally being unhappy. Then we pulled up to our building and her entire demeanor changed. She shrieked with happiness, yelled "HOME! YAY!" and clapped her hands.
It struck me at that moment that she doesn't see all of the "problems." To her, it is the place she feels most safe, secure, and loved. It's all she's ever known, and it's home.
I started thinking at that moment that I really shouldn't complain about it as much. We have a roof over our heads, a place to put our children to bed at night. And the best part is, we don't have to pay for it, it's a perk of my husband's job. (This is actually one of the things I like to complain about it. While it's nice to be given an apartment with utilities included, it's a double-edged sword because as long as my husband has this job, we HAVE to live here.)
I should be grateful that we get heat (lots of it), hot water, electricity, internet, telephone, and cable. We never have to worry about getting those particular bills paid. We've very, very lucky and blessed.
It took my 18-month old to remind me that those are the things I should think about when I start dwelling on our living situation. Thank you Stephanie for putting things into perspective for your mommy.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for leaving comments! They are always welcome, and I always appreciate the feedback. I do my best to respond to each and every comment. If you click the "subscribe by email" button underneath the comment box, you will get notified when I comment back. Thank you for visiting!